Porsche Taycan GTS Sport Turismo

The footprints of the Taycan saloon and the higher-riding Cross Turismo are largely identical, and the newest addition to the family, the GTS Sport Turismo, stays in the same lane, give or take a few millimetres. It ditches some of the utilitarian looks of the Cross Turismo (like the roof rack), in favour of sportier GTS styling tweaks, but overall, the styling is largely the same. That'll be of no disappointment to Cross Turismo or Taycan fans.

The Sport Turismo is definitely A LOT more thrilling to drive than your average family ferry. Only about 100 times over. For our test, we drove a UK-spec rear-wheel drive in Chichester, not sunny California, as the press pictures suggest. But the weather wasn't that different. Honest.

Ground clearance is lower than the Cross Turismo so it’s truer to the Taycan in the way it feels. It sticks to the road like glue. No, really like glue – the handling is sublime, especially if you get the rear steer and anti-roll options. Darting around the smallest of country lanes is as easy as slalom skiing for the Swiss. Come rain, ice or shine, it’s a joy to drive and motorways just melt away into a blissful state of speed and luxury. You can choose between driving modes with the dial on the steering wheel, so flick into Sport for those S-shaped bends and Comfort for long stints up the M6. 

The GTS Sport shares the same rear electric motor as the Taycan Turbo but it's tuned to produce less power. You get 590bhp on overboost (activated with Launch Control) and 510bhp in day-to-day use. Launch Control is dead-easy in a Porsche: Hold down on the brake, then hold down on the throttle until the Launch Control light activates. Push down the right pedal and whoosh, you’re away! If you like thrills, you're in a car capable of a 0-62 time of 3.7 seconds. That’s enough to keep life exciting!  

A surprisingly great part of the Taycan experience is Porsche's Electric Sport Sound. It’s not the real-deal, head-turning vroom of a 911 (think vaping rather than smoking) but your back certainly gets a thump when you nudge the right pedal towards the carpet...

The Taycan family of models share the same interior, and that's no bad thing because it's mighty impressive. The GTS is high-tech with a capital HT. There’s a 16.8-inch curved display touchscreen infotainment system with a digital driver display that stretches across the horizontal bespoke dashboard and a separate central touchscreen console to control the climate settings and charge ports. Opt for the additional passenger display and your shotgun passenger will be too busy staring at their own screen to comment on your driving! Porsche infotainment is incredibly easy to use and you can always link up Apple CarPlay or Android Auto if you need.  

Sometimes low-riding sports cars are a challenge when it comes to finding the right driving position. The multiway adjustable seats move very far forwards and rise up significantly, so even the shortest drivers will find they can see for miles down the road once they’ve moved their seat around. It’s very spacious upfront and the materials feel a dream to touch too.  

Like its sibling Cross Turismos the GTS Sport scores way higher in practicality than most other Porsches. It’s roomy inside because of the long wheelbase and estate body, and although the sloping back roof will cramp the taller population, it’s still plenty big enough back there for four people. The middle rear seat is advised for occasional use, but on the occasion, you do want to utilise it, most gangly teenagers will trade a bit less personal space for this car's performance. The back seats fold down 20:40:20, which is super handy and you get a 446-litre boot and an 84-litre froot (front boot under the bonnet). The seats are incredibly comfortable and there are large door bins, plenty of cupholders, Isofix fittings for child seats, two 12V sockets and multiple USB ports, so you’re covered for long journeys. 

Porsche scores well on reliability surveys, especially the Taycan, so you can expect your GTS Sport Turismo to give you long running bang for your buck. It comes with a three-year manufacturer guarantee and the battery has an eight-year (or 100,000 miles) warranty too.   

The GTS Sport Turismo has a WLTP range of 304 miles, which is particularly good considering how much power this car has. A full charge from 0-100% on a 22kW home charger should take five hours, and you can rapid charge when you’re out and about using the 50kW speed. Porsche only requires the GTS to be serviced every 20,000 miles which will cut down costs on maintenance and you’re obviously exempt from Congestion Charges and ULEZ, which helps the wallet too.